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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761256">Interlude: Of Help and Healing</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/redvelvetrose/pseuds/pansexualfandommess'>pansexualfandommess (redvelvetrose)</a>, <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincereJester/pseuds/SincereJester'>SincereJester</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rise of Ben Solo [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Sequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Armitage Hux Has Feelings, Armitage Hux Has Issues, Armitage Hux Needs A Hug, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, F/M, Nice Armitage Hux, Twi'leks (Star Wars), Vaginal Fingering</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 11:49:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,011</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22761256</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/redvelvetrose/pseuds/pansexualfandommess, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SincereJester/pseuds/SincereJester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Interlude: Hux has his surgery and is resting afterwards, but still wants to explore his growing attraction to Seela. While on medications that prevent his body from responding, he takes the opportunity to learn more about how to please a female.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Armitage Hux/Original Female Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Rise of Ben Solo [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1586332</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Interlude: Of Help and Healing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seela hung up her flight jacket, leaving her in a sleeveless top and some loose fatigue pants. She headed right into the quarters she and Hux had taken over on the Tantive IV on a temporary basis. He'd had his surgery the day before and had been sleeping on and off pretty much the entire time since. So, she'd taken it upon herself to tend to little chores around the cabins so he would be comfortable once he was lucid.</p><p>She crept into the darkened room, sitting down on the bed next to him and reaching out to smooth his hair back.
</p><p>Millicent raised her head from her position curled against Hux's shoulder. The ginger cat had taken her job of nursing Hux to health quite seriously, hardly leaving his side and purring constantly. Seela reached across to scratch between the cat's ears, to show her appreciation. Nestled between them, Hux stirred, groggy from the surgery.
</p><p>"Hey," she said softly, smiling as she leaned down to kiss him gently. "How are you feeling, freykaa?" she asked. Kalonia said he would probably sleep for a first day or so and to just let him. She had also given Seela several doses of pain medication if he needed them.
</p><p>"Tired," Hux muttered, but he was just sleepy rather than anything else. "No pain."
</p><p>"Good. Mind if I join you? I could use a bit of a lie-down myself." When he gestured that she could, she kicked off her boots. Lifting the blankets, she crawled in next to him, propping her head on one hand. She resumed stroking his hair. "You've been asleep for a while. Millie hasn't left your side."
</p><p>Hux turned his head, blinking at the cat. "She's very loyal," he remarked.
</p><p>Millie responded by purring more loudly and nuzzling his hair, attempting to groom him with a rough little tongue. Seela smiled, petting the cat's head. "That she is." She curled closer to him, laying her head on his shoulder. Her hand left Millie's head to rest on his chest. Hux pulled her into a loose embrace, cradling her like a child. It was a gesture very unlike his normal reserve but one he seemed to want.
</p><p>She smiled, pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw. Between the blankets and his body heat, it was quite warm in the bed, making her purr softly. "Mmm, you're nice a warm," she commented.
</p><p>Hux smiled, half awake. "You're soft," he commented, "and you're purring, too, like Millie." He stroked her arm absently, petting her. It was almost comical but oddly comforting.
</p><p>"Well, you can pet me all you like," she laughed softly, nuzzling against his neck. He even smelled nice. One thing she could say about the First Order, they were obsessive about cleanliness, both personal and environmental. Millie yawned widely and, apparently deciding her shift of nursing was done, hopped off of the bed to go in search of some food.
</p><p>Hux continued his actions, eventually trailing up her arm and shoulder to her neck and face. He was definitely awake now, more alert.
</p><p>Warm and gentle as he was, Seela couldn't resist getting a bit more affectionate, closing her eyes and arching to his touch. She mentally reminded herself that she would have to be careful not to take things too far. He was healing and she didn't want to push him. It would probably be a bad idea to do much that might cause an erection this soon after his surgery.
</p><p>Hux's hand strayed farther, tracing over cheek and forehead, and then along the ridge of her lekku. He was watching her, gauging her reaction with curious interest. It was as if he was deliberately trying to provoke arousal in her, while remaining distant himself.
</p><p>"Mmm..." she purred softly. "You are making it very difficult to behave myself, you know" she chuckled, shifting a little so she could kiss him fully.
</p><p>Hux kissed her in return, matching her growing interest. Again, he traced her lekku, stronger this time, encouraging her exploration of his mouth.
</p><p>She didn't know how he was faring, but desire was very quickly pooling through her veins, settling low in her belly. She moaned in her throat, deepening the kiss. "Freykaa..." she whispered heatedly against his ear. "Are you... okay, to do this?" she asked.
</p><p>Hux pulled back with a sigh. "I'm all right," he assured her. "I'm not capable at the moment; the medications..." He shrugged. "Doesn't prevent me from wanting to do other things with you, now that I can."
</p><p>"You want to... fool around? Even though I can't really reciprocate for you? At least not yet..." she asked, though the look in his eyes was answer enough. He was not capable of being physically aroused at the moment, but mentally and emotionally, he was very much into this.
</p><p>"At least now we needn't worry about painful interruptions."
</p><p>"True enough," she agreed, kissing him once more. "What is it you want to do then, freykaa?" she asked, wondering what his intent was. "Are we treating this as a... well... a dry run, if you'll excuse the phrase."
</p><p>"More of a second chance," Hux suggested. "You'll have to show me, just like before. I don't know anything about Twi'leks in general, or you in particular. And I very much want to."
</p><p>"I think I can manage that," she smiled, sitting up so he could get a good view and have room to maneuver. She raised her arms, pulling her lekku forward so he could reach them easily. "Give me your hands," she smiled, placing them gently along her lekku, teaching him how to stroke them. "You have to be very careful with lekku," she told him in a soft voice. "They are very sensitive. And, yes, I can move them independently." To demonstrate, she used the tip of one to trace a random design over the back of his hand. "They aren't tentacles the way you might think; I can't go picking things up with them or anything like that. But stroking them like this feels really good."
</p><p>Hux smiled up at her, continuing his pace on the lekku. It did feel odd not having any noticeable reaction between his legs but instead of worrying about, he was relishing the opportunity to indulge his curiosity without pain.
</p><p>She moaned softly, tilting her head back, just enjoying the warmth of his hands and the tendrils of pleasure that seemed to slide right down to her core. "Good... very good," she smiled. "Hang on, just a sec. May as well get the boring stuff out of the way." She rose from the bed, turning away and pulling her top off in one fluid motion, letting it fall to the floor. Her trousers and underclothes swiftly followed, leaving her naked for his perusal.
</p><p>She was a beautiful thing, pale blue skin and golden eyes and graceful curves. Despite the lack of sensation lower down, the rest of his body indicated how pleased it was at the sight; his face flushed and he felt his entire body shiver as he stared with rapt attention at her.
</p><p>She blushed at his frank admiration as she crawled back into bed with him. "Guess I don't need to ask if you like what you see," she commented, reaching out to touch his face gently. "Your eyes are very telling."
</p><p>His breath left in a shaky sigh. "You are a vision," he whispered.
</p><p>She smiled, blush deepening. "Keep talking like that and you won't have to do much touching to get me ready," she said, leaning down to kiss him again, her breasts skimming over his chest. The contrast of the cool room and the warmth of his skin made her gasp softly.
</p><p>Hux inhaled sharply, remembering to breathe. Mercifully, miraculously, there was no pain at all. Encouraged by her sounds, he lifted his hands to cup her breasts, rolling them in his palms.
</p><p>"Mmm... there you go... good instincts," she whispered, moaning softly as his fingers slid over her nipples. "Do that again," she encouraged him, guiding his fingers with her own, letting him feel how they hardened in response to his touch.
</p><p>Buoyed by the successful pain control and Seela's erotic reactions, Hux followed her lead as he explored the surface of her skin, brushing his fingertips over her nipples, circling the mounds of her breasts, seizing and kneading them with enthusiasm.
</p><p>"Gentle, gentle..." she reminded him when his touch grew a little too strong. "There you go, better," she nodded when he softened his touch. "If you're up to it, you can use your mouth as well. Kiss, lick, suckle... whatever you want to try."
</p><p>Hux chuckled, and proceeded to just that, but he was gentle in his persistence. He could take the time to really learn from the whole experience, and he wasn't going to waste the chance. He had wanted to do this from the time on Ajan Kloss, once he accepted that Seela was genuinely attracted to him, and he to her.
</p><p>Her breath caught when he took one nipple between his lips, suckling gently. "Oh, freykaa..." she moaned, hands sliding into his hair, holding him close to her. "That feels so good, love..."
</p><p>Hux was amazed at how good it felt for him, too; it was comforting in a weird way, to have her warm, soft flesh pressed to his face, and to feel her blissful shudders of pleasure that his suckling provoked. He sincerely hoped his recovery would be short; to be able to fully interact would be more enjoyable than he could imagine. For now, he reveled in a more observant role, intent on giving Seela all the pleasure he felt she deserved, to the best of his ability.
</p><p>The ache between her legs was getting very insistent, though she was trying to postpone introducing him to that. She had the feeling that just a few strokes of his fingers would set her off. Still, her hips started to rock slightly and she groan low in her throat. She swore softly in Twi'leki, fingers tugging slightly on his hair.
</p><p>Hux paused, pulling back. "Too much?" he asked.
</p><p>"Not at all... it feels amazing" she assured him. "Here, give me your hand." She took his hand, sliding it down between her thighs, letting him feel the heat and slick. "Just like guys get hard when aroused... girls get wet," she explained a bit breathlessly, not sure if a First Order education covered anything beyond 'insert tab A into slot B'. 
</p><p>"Here, let me... lie down so you have a better angle." Once she had rearranged herself, laying on her back next to him, her legs parted so he could easily reach down between them.
</p><p>He let her guide his hand back to the wet, warm place between her legs. It was as intriguing as her lekku and breasts had been as he felt his way along the folds and creases; rather than being put off by the slippery unfamiliar sensation, he found it sensual, almost like rain-drenched flower petals, or even Millicent's fur after she had been grooming.
</p><p>Seela gasped softly with each breath, keeping her fingers over his to guide him. "Feel? This is all from you," she said, hoping the knowledge that he was arousing her so well would encourage him to explore more.
</p><p>"Like this?" he queried, letting his fingers fan out and trace along the hidden ridges and valleys.
</p><p>She tried to answer, but her voice came out in a soft moan. "Y-yes..." she managed to breathe. His fingertips slid along the hard nub at the apex of her, making her jump at the near overwhelming sensation. </p><p>"Ohhh... slow, slow..." she panted. "That's... a very sensitive spot."
</p><p>Pleased with her reaction, Hux redoubled his efforts, concentrating on that spot. As his thumb worked over that hard spot, his fingers slipped deeper into the folds; he discovered there was an opening hidden there and gently probed it.
</p><p>A pleased whine escaped her, hip tilting up to his touch. "That's where your cock will go... once you're healed," she panted, still trying to explain things as they went despite the increasing difficulty of thinking at all. "Feel? How I... open for you? How I want you?"
</p><p>"Yes, I can feel it," Hux replied huskily. Her movements drew his fingers in deeper, engulfing them in musky wetness. He imagined what it would feel like around him once he was able, and he shivered with anticipation. He moved his hand back and forth, following her rhythm, fascinated by how it aroused her.
 </p><p>“Ahh...” she moaned, the tentative movement of his fingers teasing her. Yet it was a wonderful sort of teasing that only amped her up higher. Her skin felt burning hot, the folds of her sex felt swollen and aching to the point where even the lightest touch threatened to push her over the edge. “Armitage...” she breathed his name shakily, hand clasping at his pale shoulders.
</p><p>"Tell me," he muttered softly, eyes wide. "Tell me what to do."
</p><p>She licked her lips, trying to breathe steadily enough so she could speak. "Keep doing what you're doing... delve a little deeper just barely inside of me. I like when the first thrust inside is slow..."  His hand was at a far better angle than she could ever manage herself, so she guided him by his wrist. Her hips were shaking as she fought to hold still for him. He seemed a bit concerned by that, so she gave him a panting smile. "It's OK... I'm just really aroused and... hanging on by a thread. Just don't want to rush you."
</p><p>"I won't rush," he assured her. Cautiously he pressed inward, going infinitesimally slow; there was a sort of ruffled patch just inside the entrance that he took time to sweep across which made Seela tremble again. He was glad to know that he wasn't hurting her but he was still aware that this was all quite new to him.
</p><p>"Do that again, freykaa..." she keened softly. When he did, the sensation made her buck up against his fingers. "Close..." she panted. "I'm so close..." A jumble of one-syllable words followed on each exhalation. "Please. More..!" she begged softly. "Armitage..!"
</p><p>Increasing the pace and intensity, he thrust his fingers deep, moving them smoothly in and out over and over, meeting each hitch of her hips against his hand. He matched her gasps, wanting to fully experience what she was feeling, urging her on.
</p><p>Words began to fail her entirely. She shuddered and arched, thrusting her hips up against his hand hard, pleasure over-riding any other coherent thought. She did not so much as push herself over the edge as she did topple without the thought or desire to stop it. She wailed in a stuttering voice as she came, body undulating like a snake, seeking more and more of the pleasure he was giving her. She could actually feel her flesh clamping down hungrily, milking at him in an attempt to claim more seed from him despite the fact that he was using his hand and not his cock. Her body did not care in the slightest that he'd used only his fingers.
</p><p>Hux gaped at her, utterly enthralled by Seela's climax. The powerful pull on his fingers was incredible; she was unbelievably strong in a way he hadn't even imagined and it drove him nearly mad with want, never mind his numb flesh. She was something primeval and completely untamed, and he felt almost reverent witnessing her in her orgasmic heights. What would it be like to be inside her, joined together in this symbiotic sharing of pleasure? He couldn't even imagine it, didn't even try to.
</p><p>She came down from the heights slowly, hands still clenched in the sheets, twitches and waves of pleasure still coursing through her. "Freykaa..." she moaned softly, managing to get one hand to release and stray over his arm and up to his shoulder, though it shook. "That was... amazing..." she smiled at his, eyes darkened with the afterglow. "Come here, eskaa’lia, I need to hold you," she whispered, drawing him down to her.
</p><p>After her grip on his hand relaxed, Hux shifted and carefully arranged himself on her gleaming sky-blue body. Every sense was heightened, and she was the focus of them all: sight, sound, even scent... intoxicating.
</p><p>She wrapped her arms around him, holding him tightly, rubbing her brow against his neck, almost like a cat. "I mean it. That was amazing. Not even just for your first time. For any time" she smiled, praising him with genuine adoration in her eyes.
</p><p>Flushed with pride at her compliment, Hux let himself drift in the tranquil aftermath, cradled in her arms. "I've never done anything like that before. Thank you for...everything. Guiding me, telling me what to do... just, letting me witness it. You are so, so beautiful, Seela." He snuggled against her, feeling safer and more content than he recalled ever feeling before.
</p><p>She smiled and drew him into a lingering kiss, smoothing his hair back with both hands. "I love you," she whispered against his ear, holding him close, before whispering it again in Twi'leki so he would know the sound.
</p><p>"I love you, too," Hux responded, and he meant it. He did love Seela, in many ways. That startled him; he didn't recall having said that to anyone else in his adult life, and if he really thought about it, he had not even felt the emotion before. He had been suspicious of relationships in general; the concept of friendship in the First Order was rarely altruistic, and romance...well, it was weakness at best, and fatal at worst. Seela had shown him otherwise. He was slowly coming to understand what these words meant, and that he could personally experience and express them.
</p><p>Her heartbeat slowed gradually, though she still clung to him tightly. A heavy sleepiness settled over them both and she lazily kissed his jawline and along his neck and shoulder. "Mmm... I don't even want to let you go so we can sleep," she murmured.
</p><p>"Truthfully, I'm not at all sleepy," Hux insisted, "But you must be. Rest; I'm not going anywhere."
</p><p>"Physically, yes... I'm tired. But I like lying here with you and talking." She shifted so they were on their sides, though still pressed together. She curled one arm between them, the other stroking languidly along his side and back, enjoying the smooth expanse of pale skin marked here and there with light brown spots; freckles, she thought they were called. "So, dare I ask for your thoughts? Not to sound like I'm scoring how much you paid attention... but I'm curious as to your thoughts and questions and all."
</p><p>"I assure you I was paying very close attention," Hux said with a smile. "It might take some time for me to generate a full roster of questions and catalog my impressions, however."
</p><p>His rather militaristic terms said in a warm voice made her laugh softly. "Now you're just being cute on purpose" she accused him with a smile. "Catalog your impressions... honestly."
</p><p>Hux broke into a genuine warm smile at her laughter. "It was extraordinary, Seela! I haven't experienced anything remotely like that before, and I am hoping that this healing is swift so I can participate even more next time."
</p><p>"You and me both," she assured him. "I am very much looking forward to being able to give you as much pleasure as you gave me. I've been giving it quite a bit of thought."
Hux arched an eyebrow. "Have you?" he quipped.
</p><p>"Do you doubt me?" she grinned. "I have things I can do to you that would make you see stars for days."
</p><p>"I don't doubt you do," he replied. "I was just wondering when you had the time to consider it."
</p><p>"Well, you know, I don't work ALL the time," she laughed. "And my mind does like to wander."
</p><p>"Something tells me I'm going to enjoy the direction your mind wandered, hopefully soon." Hux gazed at her, any trace of drowsiness gone. "Thank you," he went on, softly. "I am so grateful for you and all you've done for me...and Millie." He glanced around. "Where is she, anyway?"
</p><p>"I think she went off to find some food," she smiled, stroking his hair back once more. His hair was just so soft and such a vibrant red, she couldn't help but touch it whenever the opportunity presented itself. </p><p>"And you're more than welcome, freykaa... you are proving to be quite conscientious about this second chance you've been given."
</p><p>"It's a bit of an experiment for me, too; I needed to see if there was any pain." Hux propped his arm beneath his head, pillowing it. "Seela, please remember, I've never been attracted to anyone else this way, and given the nature of my condition, I hadn't really explored much in the way of physical gratification at all. My life was rather carefully laid out before; and this," he said, indicating the two of them side by side in bed, " was not in the plans.  It simply didn't enter into my daily equation, and I hadn't expected that to change until we met. I did want to make it up to you, because of what happened before--something I should have anticipated--and, well, this seemed the perfect opportunity. It's certainly been encouraging; I hope, with time and more healing, it will continue to be so."
</p><p>"Well, I'm more than a little flattered that I am apparently the one who broke through all of that pre-conditioning and actually attract you," she smiled, leaning in to kiss him. "You're a good man, Armitage. I can feel it in you. You have a gentle heart guarded by a very tough shell. You just haven't been given much opportunity to act within your nature. Seems to me like everything you've been taught had to be hard-drilled into you. I don't know how. I don't know anything about the training and schooling you went through as a child. But whomever your superiors were in the past, I'm willing to bet they were really frustrated with you at first. Must have been a really hard task twisting an inherently kind boy into a First Order general."
</p><p>Hux went cold, suddenly frozen and silent. Seela couldn't possibly know his past; he tried to reason with himself. In fact, her comments revealed just how little she did know: her assumption was that he had been forced into his role in the First Order, much like Finn or any other child raised in the Unknowns. She had probably never even heard of Brendol Hux, let alone know about the abuse his father had inflicted on him for years. He hadn't told her any of it, not even how he had come by the injury he had sought to correct. What a fool he was, to think all he had to do was a simple medical procedure and allow some expression of sentiment to heal the past!
</p><p>Seela felt the change in his demeanor immediately. "Freykaa?" she asked, shifting to cup his face in her hands. "Oh no, I opened my big mouth and ruined it, didn't I? I'm so sorry, love... please, don't think on it," she was quick to try and comfort him. "We're here and now."
</p><p>"I k-know," he whispered shakily. "It's not your fault, Seela, please, please don't think that...It's only...it wasn't like that."
</p><p>She frowned, petting his hair in a soothing manner. “What do you mean, freykaa? Or is it too personal?”
</p><p>Personal... "It was much worse," he replied. He considered dropping the subject entirely; there was the briefest flash of anger and resentment of having their intimate moment tainted by his past rearing its ugly head, but it would only happen again, and perhaps at a worse moment. "You've no idea..."
</p><p> “Tell me, love... there’s no safer place than here in my arms,” she assured him, kissing him gently.
</p><p>He sighed, steeling himself for this topic of conversation. "I wasn't an inherently kind boy, and I didn't have a gentle heart. I was born on Arkanis to a high-ranking Imperial official, to a family with a long military history." He paused. "At least, on my father's side. My mother was a common servant, part of the kitchen staff. I'm a bastard; the result of an affair. I'm also my father's only offspring, so he was forced to acknowledge me as his only son and heir." He found himself clenching his jaw just recounting it. "He was more than frustrated with me; he openly hated my very existence."
</p><p>“He hated you? But... why? If you were his only child, why wouldn’t he cherish you? I don’t... I don’t understand how anyone can hate any child, let alone their own child.” She took a deep breath, hands becoming even more gentle on him. “What about your mother? Surely she loved you?”
</p><p>He looked away. "I hardly remember her; she died when I was very young. I don't know anything about... their union. If they...If I was wanted by either of them. I think it highly unlikely. In my father's case, it's certain he didn't."
</p><p>“Oh, freykaa...” she whispered in a saddened voice. “No wonder even the slightest affection seems to confuse you. Did no one treat you with any kindness?”
</p><p>"Kindness? No, not exactly. I had an arrangement with one of my superior officers, Admiral Rae Sloane, when we left Jakku to the Unknowns. I had been given my first command over a band of children, and she agreed to prevent my father's abuse in exchange for her own protection from my savage little soldiers."
</p><p>"Your father's.... abuse?" she asked slowly, as though she hoped she had misheard. She swore softly in Twi'leki, "Oh goddess... he hurt you? Like... physically?"
Hux looked back at her and slowly nodded. He waved a hand vaguely over his waist. "This was the result of just one of the times it was... excessive. It didn't usually go that far, but it was a regular thing, and not just physical; more often it was emotional or psychological."
</p><p>“Oh, Armitage..." she shook her head in horrified pity, pulling him into a tight hug, as if she could chase the experience away with her own affection. She even said his name with a Twi'leki accent just so it would not be the same way his father had said it. "Freykaa, I'm so sorry... " Tears pricked at her eyes, her heart aching for this man that she had so quickly developed affection for.
</p><p>"Please, don't cry," Hux murmured. "All of that; it's in the past. My father's dead, and I replaced him in the ranks. And I was a model officer, just as I was meant to be."
</p><p>"That doesn't make it right, freykaa," she said, pulling back to meet his gaze. "You were a child. His child. He had no right to treat you the way he did. And, forgive me for saying this, but a model First Order officer is not someone I might consider to be a good person." She swallowed hard and took his hands in hers. "Love... children are not born mean or cruel. They learn it. You learned it. From what you're telling me, you learned it hard."
</p><p>"I did," he admitted. "But I was also taught to be a leader, not a follower. I learned to be the cleverest if I wasn't the strongest.  I learned to survive, and would be ruthless to achieve that." He raised their hands to his lips, and kissed them gently. "And I'm still alive to learn this. To learn about caring, and friendship, and love. And to fight for those, too."
</p><p>That mollified her a little bit. "You are clever, my love. And you are a strong leader. But that's because of you. Not him. Nothing good comes from him. You have a good heart. You always have. I know it."
</p>
<p>Hux's expression softened. "Through you, I'm starting to know that, too - and believe it when you say it.”
</p><p>"I will keep helping you believe it, love. Me and Millie. You can't discount your affection towards Millie. A truly cruel person wouldn't have such an attachment to a, quote-unquote useless animal. You don't keep her around as a status symbol, you love her. And she loves you. That speaks highly of your heart," she explained, though her smile was ever so slightly teasing, aware that citing his cat as a character reference was slightly silly.
</p><p>"Hmm," Hux contemplated that thread of logic. "Questionable evidence, I suppose, but we'll investigate further in the future."
</p><p>"Well, we have ample evidence that your father was a jerk and waste of oxygen. Frankly, if he wasn't already dead, I'd be trying to track him down to kill him myself. But... you said you were young when your mother died. What happened to her?" she asked. She clung to the hope that his mother, of all people, had loved him. If she had been a mere servant, she was certain that the affair had been more a situation of Brendol Hux exercising his status over a woman who had no way to deny him. But the fact that she had not aborted her pregnancy told her that maybe she had at least wanted her child.
</p><p>"When we were evacuated from Arkanis to Jakku, there were frequent bombing raids by the rebels; she didn't survive them.” Neither had Brendol's wife, together with the entire household, either, but that seemed irrelevant to the subject, so he didn't mention it.
</p><p>"Bombing raids? Rebels didn't target households, though. They were targeting the ports and the air fields. Not living spaces. We used to use that run as training on how to pinpoint attacks so civilian casualties were as minimal as we could make them." She sat up a little, meeting his eyes. "Love... your mother could well be alive!"
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